Put On Your Knee Brace: Knicks’ D-Team Holds Open Tryouts

October 8, 2008

Attention blacktop basketball hotshots: Think you still got skillz? You may have a shot with the Reno Bighorns. They’re an expansion team in the NBA’s Development League, and they invite anyone who’s over 18 and a high school graduate — and can spare the $150 entry fee — to try out in New York next week.

The Bighorns will see applicants at the Knicks’ Traning Center in nearby Greenburgh, NY on October 17 from 6-9 p.m. and October 18 from 2:30-5:00 p.m. “We’ll give ’em all a workout,” says Director of Basketball Operations Jason Glover, “then we’ll split ’em up and watch ’em play.” He says he may bring as many as five applicants from this session up to veterans’ camp. If you make it there, you’d have a shot at the roster.

The D-League is a legitimate farm-system minor league — they even have a dance team — but NPR warns you that they don’t pay much — rooks get about $12,000 a year. But in Reno you could probably afford a mountain cabin and eat what you kill.

Download and fill out the application forms here. The forms say they’re due by September 12, but the Bighorns told us they were “left over” from a previous solicitation and will be accepted “right up to the tryouts.” Be advised that the Bighorns reserve the right to run a background check on you, and the application includes this difficult question: “In one sentence, please define the ‘goal’ you hope to achieve as a D-League [Insert Team Name] Player?” We think “to kick the Albuquerque T-Birds’ ass” will be accepted.